


Happy Together

by dr_bobanner



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Power Swap, Apocalypse Prevented, Drabble Collection, Gen, No Incest, Post-Canon, Power Swap, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2019-11-18 13:30:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 17,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18121595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dr_bobanner/pseuds/dr_bobanner
Summary: A group warp goes wrong and the Hargreeves siblings find their powers swapped. Some relief, confusion, and bonds form.Loose multi chapter/drabble collection cuz I have little attention span for a cohesive plot.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! My friend and I discussed the umbrellaswap au and a power swap au and this is my interpretation of our discussion. Not really a true multi chapter fic or a collection of drabbles, sort if in between because I have so many writing projects I cant put this all together properly like I normally would.  
> Not sure what warnings will apply in this, but I'll update tags as it goes and if anything needs a TW I'll put it in the notes.

Group warps work faster, they said. It'll be more convenient, they said. Well, they hadn't accounted for what could go wrong in that situation. Five could do it, a simple spacial warp was nothing. More people meant more to take into account when jumping, but he simply factored that out by starting their wraps in wider, more open areas. Better safe than sorry in the case of his siblings wellbeing.

Their first practice warp was simple enough. Move everyone from the kitchen to the foyer. And so the siblings readied themselves. No one knew what to expect except Five, though Klaus suspected it was very similar to the feeling of jumping through time. Hopefully, to a lesser disorientating degree. The six circles together, holding tightly to each others forearms with clammy palms. Ben, out of ghostly curiosity, took the opportunity to grasp Klaus's shoulder. Call it a scientific curiosity. Could ghosts spacial jump too?

 "Ready?" Five asked, beginning to focus his mind on their intended location.

The siblings all looked to each other before back to Five, nodding in agreement. Klaus looked back to Ben, who just seemed happy to try joining the group activities.

And then it happened.

The split second flurry of confusing tingles and sparks as their atoms fizzled out of existence in the kitchen and reassembled in the foyer. It was silent for a long while, everyone gathering their bearings before slowly letting go of each other. It worked, they made it, and as far as they could tell in one piece.

"Oh my god!" Klaus cheered, turning quickly to hug Ben only to see empty space. "Oh, well that's no fun."

He huffed and turned back to the rest of the family, all reorienting themselves after their first jump.

"Well, bummer news, ghosts can't come with us."

"Thanks for the update." Allison quibed as she took stock of herself.

Everything was as it should, at least from her outsider perspective. All fingers and toes accounted for, hair was okay, everyone else was slowly coming to from the sudden shift.

Vanya and Luther were the most in shock, both standing in a wide eyed stare as they slowly let go of the other. And Diego, being the tough man of the family, quickly ran from the group to the nearest potted plant to vomit.

"That wasnt so bad." Five said, his usual smug grin on his chubby little face as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "Now, if that's all for today-"

The smile faltered then as he stepped forward. This caught everyone's attention, even Diego as he wiped a bit of bile from his lips.

"Yes, and?" He asked.

Five blinked several times before taking another step and looking around.

"I... I can't jump."

The rest of the Hargreeves children watched agape as Five tried again, this time taking a few running steps and stopping short of Allison.

"I can't jump." He repeated. "I- we- this is why I never tried spacial jumps with other people!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, buddy, come on." Klaus said. "Maybe you just need a rest?"

"I don't need a rest. I need to jump!"

And he tried again. Turning from Allison, five run towards the entrance doors and stopped again.

"Maybe... maybe it's some cosmic thing, you know?" Klaus continued to try his reasoning. "Like, uh, only six Hargreeves can possess power at one time."

This got a rather confused and strained look from his siblings. Five soon turned his own look to Vanya for a moment, looking away as soon as he did. She felt the look, a deep pang of guilt hitting her. Was it her fault?

"Klaus," Allison said, "if that were true, then Vanya would have discovered her powers after Ben died. Uh... No offense, Ben?" She looked generally around Klaus where she assumed their dead brother was.

"None taken." Ben replied from behind Klaus, knowing she couldnt hear it.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Klaus." Luther interjected. "You sound crazy."

"Says the big hairy monkey man."

Luther puffed up at the insult, stepping towards Klaus as he clenched his fists. Allison quickly ran between them, holding out hands to try and block them.

"Hey, quit it, you two!" She said sternly.

"Mama bear got her claws out." Diego joked from his spot at the house plant.

Choosing to ignore him, Allison took a deep breath and looked between the two men.

"We arent going to fight over this." She said. "Now, Luther, apologize to Klaus."

"What? He wa-"

"Luther."

Her tone was that only a mother could pull off, full of warning and disappointment.

"I... I'm sorry." He said, caving to his sister.

"For?"

Groaning loudly, Luther stepped bad, rubbing his face.

"I'm sorry I called you crazy, Klaus."

Allison looked from Luther towards Klaus then, his face immensely smug.

"Thank you." Klaus said with a smile.

"Now, Klaus, apologize to Luther."

There was no time for him to protest Allison's demand. Five was pacing, growing impatient with his sibling squabbling.

"I'm sorry, Luther, for calling you a big hairy monkey man."

"Thank you." Luther said.

Stepping back slowly, Allison looked between the two brothers to make sure they didnt retaliate against one another.

"As I was saying..." Klaus continued. "Ben may be dead, but you've all seen it. He can still use his tentacle buddies."

"Well, until there's further proof of that, let's go with power exhaustion." Allison turned her attention then to the pacing Five. "Come on, warping six people at once has to be draining. Just... let's have some lunch and talk about this later."

Everyone nodded in agreement then before Vanya cleared her throat.

"I have a student in an hour, I'd better go." She said.

"Of course." Allison smiled at Vanya. "We'll see you later?"

"Yeah."

Vanya smiled nodding at her sister before quietly saying her goodbyes to the rest and grabbing her coat from the coat rack and pushing her way through the usually heavy front door.

"Alright, let's regroup and how about a round of fluffer nutters?" Klaus said, rubbing his hands together.

"That sounds excellent." Allison chuckled, making her way towards the kitchen with him.

Five continued his pacing and mumbling to himself before Luther stopped him, a large hand grabbing his tiny shoulder. It was a rather funny size situation, the tiny thirteen year old body against his genetically modified ape of a brother.

"Come on, the least we can do is wait on it."

"Yeah, sure we can." Five quipped.

Despite the promise if peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches, Five began his storming up the stairs and to his room, running equations through his mind. Luther couldnt help but sigh as he watched. Soon, his attention turned to Diego. The jump had thrown him for a very large loop, the black clad man still a gagging mess over the poor house plant. The soil had begun absorbing some of the mess, making Luther feel his own stomach flip.

"Hey, if you-"

"Yeah, I know." Diego spat.

With a sigh, Luther followed Klaus and Allison's path towards the kitchen, leaving the last of his brothers alone. Ben sighed a puzzled look over his face as he thought. It wasnt like Klaus to ignore him, though this was more than ignore. Klaus had straight up pretended not to see or hear him. Ben kept pondering this thought as Diego finally stood, saying a small apology to the plant he had violated. Turning, he suddenly turned very pale. His warm complexion was rendered a sickly color as he locked eyes with Ben.

They stood there, watching each other for a long time, before finally it clicked in both their minds.

"Ben?" Diego squeaked.

"You can see me?"

And then, Diego was down in a crumpled mess on the foyer floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My lord, the response y'all gave on chapter one (within minutes of posting!) is unlike a response I've gotten before. I hope the coming chapters are just as satisfying, and heres hoping my inspiration and motivation dont give up on me.  
> Also just a small apology that the ending of this is awkward, I'm just excited to get to the meat of the story.

It wasn't Vanya's fault Five lost his powers. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself. Over and over again, on the bus, on her walk into her building, as she put her key in the door and turned. Slowly, Vanya stopped and took a deep breath, her eyes closed tight. _It's not my fault Five can't warp anymore_. Damn Klaus for even putting the idea in her head. He didnt mean to, but he did.

Opening her eyes again, Vanya held her door knob tight and turned, pulling as she stepped back for the door. Except the door didn't come, the knob did.

"Damn it." She swore, looking down at the brass thing in her hand.

The base looked twisted and gnarled, probably from decades of people screwing with it. And if this inconvenience had to happen to anyone, it was Vanya. She sighed, looking upward and saying a little prayer. What did she do to get locked out a half an hour before classes started?

But there was still a half an hour to deal with it. Clearing her throat and pulling herself up, Vanya turned around to make the trek back downstairs to the supers apartment. If she had any luck, he would be home and able to help her out. Stepping up to the apartment, sort of office, with a large "SUPERINTENDENT" name plate across the front, Vanya took a deep breath and knocked.

It was several long moment before there was a sound of rustling and the door opened.

"Hi, Mr. Coble, my door is kind of... stuck." Vanya held up the door knob to the older man.

Mr. Coble sighed deeply, taking it from her. He took a moment to assess the knob and what happened. Then, his face scrunched up, watching the twisted end before looking back to the tiny woman in front of him.

"What happened?" He asked. "Did King Kong pay you a visit?"

Vanya tried her best not to picture Luther.

"I just tried turning it and... yeah." She said, honestly.

Mr. Coble watched her for another moment, his skepticism plain on his face. But, it was the first time Vanya had come with something like this. With a heavy sigh, he walked back into his own apartment and grabbed a tool box.

"I'll have to order a whole new set for your door, looking at this damage." Mr. Coble said.

He locked his door behind him before beginning the long walk back up with Vanya.

"How long do you think that will take?" 

He thought a moment, hissing out a long breath.

"Maybe... five days to a week, depending on what my guy says."

Vanya took little comfort in this, suddenly beginning to panic at the thought of her apartment being so inaccessible. Staying at the academy, while not ideal was very much an option. Technically, they hadn't inherited the grand home, but Pogo and Grace treated the situation as such. The family home. 

"Best case, you can collect the essentials and have a little vacation if I can get the thing open." Mr. Coble mused as they approached the door.

Immediately, he set down his tool box and began sifting through for the right tool. He picked up a screwdriver and set of pliers, carefully beginning to maneuver around the mangled knob mechanisms.

"This would be a... problematic situation on a daily basis." Vanya tried to chuckle at her comment, feeling herself fall back into old, awkward habits.

"Yeah, but I'll let my guy know it's a rush job." He said, continuing to fiddle around. "You got family you can stay with?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah, I do."

The question then was how she could hold lessons at the academy for the week with her family being their usual selves. Or with Allison walking around, knowing her young students or their family probably knew of her. But all would be answered as soon as she was inside to make a call.

"I think we got it!" Mr. Coble cheered as there was a pop.

Removing his tools, the door slowly creaked open and revealed Vanya's cozy apartment.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Coble." Vanya said, waiting for him to get up.

"Oh it's not problem, just my job." He smiled, standing and stepping back for her to walk through. "Why dont you get yourself situated and let me know when you're ready to head out, I'll try and keep an eye on things while we wait for the new knob."

"Thanks." Vanya cringed when she realized she could only think to thank him instead of talking like a normal human.

As he got his tools together to leave, Vanya stepped in and immediately headed to the kitchen. Grabbing her address book from the counter, she dialed up her next student and explained the situation. Of course, the girls mother was frazzled but calmed by Vanya's assurances an hour of practice without her was good enough for her musical genius daughter. It was a cycle of the same as she called other students parents, explaining she would return their calls by the evening if the academy was suitable for lessons. Who knows, she mused, maybe moving lessons there out of her home would be a good idea. A better acoustical experiance for the young minds.

It wasnt until the last mother was soothed that Vanya remembered the most important call, her siblings. Surprisingly, the phone picked up after the first ring.

"Hello?" Allison greeted.

"Hey, its Vanya, I-" She couldnt help but pause, listening to what sounded like a fight in the background. "What's going on?"

"That's what I was about to call you about." Allison said, her voice high and tight. "We need you back here, theres a bit of a situation."

"Situation? What's wrong?"

Allison was quiet, but the yelling continued. It sounded like Diego, but none of it made any sense. Then, Allison let out a low sigh.

"I'm not even totally sure, it's better if you just get here as soon as possible."

"Of course." Vanya went to hang up before remembering why she called in the first place. "Oh, hey, Allison?"

"Huh?" She sounded distant for a second, probably going to hang up like Vanya was.

"My apartment door is broken, is it okay if I stay at the academy?"

"Vanya, this is your home too."

Vanya hadn't realized how much she needed to hear Allison say something like that. After the almost apocalypse and everyone realizing how badly they needed each other, it still felt so wrong to think of the academy as her home too. Her home, living with her siblings.

"I'll be over as soon as possible."

She hung up and hurried to her room, pulling a large duffle bag from under her bed and beginning to pack. It was a quick mismatch, and Vanya wasn't even sure what she packed. The main objective now was just to make it back and figure out what was going on. It was a mindless rush until Vanya stuffed her toiletrie bag in and heard a gentle _meow_.

She froze for a moment before turning to the doorway. There, proudly stood Mr. Puddles, the precious Maine Coon who had the uncanny habit of escaping his owner. Vanya couldnt even say anything, just sighed and walked over to the cat. 

"Go home, Mr. Puddles."

All she got in response was a long, low meow as he looked up with his large, yellow eyes. Vanya sighed again, reaching down to pick up the large cat. Despite her annoyance, Vanya couldnt help scratching him behind the ear, giving him a gentle kiss as they walked out into the hall and she gave him a gentle toss towards his apartment  the door ajar.

Or at least, Vanya meant for it to be a gentle toss. What should have dropped Mr. Puddles a foot or two away sent tye cat flying. It was like slow motion, his paws out stretched to catch himself a good ten feet away from Vanya. He puffed up, looking back with more annoyance than anything, and gave himself a good grooming before slipping back inside.

Vanya, on the other hand, was frozen in place. Her hands were out stretched still, eyes locked onto the spot Mr. Puddles had landed. He was a big cat, usually to big for little Vanya to toss even down to her feet. But just now, he might as well have been nothing, like throwing a snowball.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heres where we really start to get in the thick of it. This part is broken up into two parts and then we'll get to the individual stuff!  
> And please dont be shy about commenting, I love the feed back and hearing what people think. And to everyone who wants Vanya to punch Luther, patience.

Grace had been the one to find Diego. All sprawled out on the foyer floor, pale as paper and a plant full of vomit. Her nurturing programming engaged, giving her everything to pull her son into the drawing room just feet away. It wasnt easy, considering her small frame, but she was designed to do as much as possible to care for her children. And care she did.

"Oh my god, is he okay?" Allison asked, entering the drawing room with a plate of lunch.

She quickly abandoned Diego's lunch on the nearest table and joined Grace at his side, watching their mother dab his forehead with a cool rag.

"I think he's overworked himself." Grace said in her always pleasant tone. "Poor thing dropped like a sack of potatoes."

"He's not the only one." Allison mused.

"I'm sorry?" 

"Hey, what's the hol-" Klaus wasn't far behind his sister, eyes growing wide when he saw the gathering. "Shit, I thought Diego was just being dramatic with his whole thing, not actually sick."

He walked around the women, sitting on the arm of the couch beside Diego's head."

"Diiiieeeeegooooooo!" He sang.

In his usual manner of tomfoolery, Klaus poked and prodded at his brothers face in an attempt to illicit a response. Grace slapped away his hand, giving a stern look to her other son.

"You boys need to be a little more considerate to each other." She scolded.

"Sorry, mom."

Klaus stood, kissing the top of her head.

"He just makes it so easy!"

Even Allison cracked a smile at Klaus finally, turning to keep her amusement from their mother. Despite loving them all, everyone was very aware of her soft spot for Diego, the only of them who bothered visiting her after putting the academy in their rearview mirrors. And with that soft spot came a hell of a protective streak.

"He's okay, right?" Allison asked.

"Vitals check out normal. Blood pressure is ninety over sixty, plus a seventy-two beats per minute, twenty-five breaths-"

"So he's okay?"

A soft smile fell over Grace's face and she nodded, turning back to smooth her hand over Diego's hair.

"We've got it from here, mom." Allison said.

"Okay."

The two women exchanged smiles between each other and Grace stood, leaving the room and her son to his siblings.

"Tough guy's pretty squamish, ain't he?" Klaus mused, strutting up to take Grace's place in front of the couch.

He plopped on the coffee table corner, his eyes sunken and red and tired. Klaus talked a good game, but Allison could see straight through her brother. Klaus was clean, and Klaus was struggling. But compared to when they were kids, the times Reginald forced Klaus into sobriety against his will, he was a lit sweeter. Still annoying, but not lashing out like the monster drugs could make him be. Allison appreciated that. Klaus had chosen to get clean and it made him a much nicer person to be around.

"How you holding up?" Allison asked.

"Oh, you know the whole thing." Klaus gave a flourish of the hand and seemed to leave it at that. 

"No, actually, I don't."

"Hey, what's going on?" Luther approached, still finishing off the last of his sandwich.

"Diego had a _horrible_ accident." Klaus pouted. "Dont know if the poor bastard will make it."

Before Luther really had a chance to roll his eyes and dismiss Klaus's dramatics, Diego finally began stirring. It was slow, a very quiet sigh escaping his lips before Luther joined his siblings over him. Then, as slowly as he began moving, his eyes opened. Slivers of deep brown eyes looked up at the three, confusion plain as day within them.

"What the fuck are you all looking at?" He asked, hand coming to his forehead to rub away the pain from a lump beginning to grow.

"You, dumbass." Klaus answered. "Mom found you passed out. What's the deal?"

Diego sighed loudly and slowly sat up, swinging his legs down from the couch and firmly on the floor.

"Jump must have fucked with my head, cuz I swear I saw..." His eyes slowly moved from Klaus and Allison to just behind everyone, locking onto something before going wide. "Ben!"

Diego jumped, shocking his siblings as he pointed out into empty space. The three all followed his point to see nothing, not even a lamp imitating a human form. Luther and Allison turned to Klaus, who shrugged and looked back to Diego. Klaus stood, carefully taking Diego's hand and guiding it back down to his side.

"Hey, buddy, look at me." He said in a low tone. "Ben isn't there, okay?"

"Klaus, I'm right here!" Ben called out from his place, arms crossed.

"He's right fucking there!" Diego cried. "How can you not see him?!"

Everyone was at a lose for words, watching Diego in his crazed state pointing at open air.

"Diego, listen to me." Klaus was firmer with his words, trying to keep Diego's attention on him. "I can't see Ben, doesnt that sound weird? You gotta be sick, okay?"

"I am not sick."

Luther sighed and walked over, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Listen, let's get yo-"

"Don't touch me!" Diego lashed out, shaking off his brothers touch, a knife finding it's way into his hand in the panic.

"Wow, wow, wow!" Klaus jumps over the coffee table, his hands up in protest.

Allison and Luther hold their ground, watching Diego calmly. He wasn't brandishing it like an attack, merely his reflexive defense as he processed what the hell was going on. Ben was no longer leering on the outskirts of the encounter, instead taking his place next to Luther.

"Diego, calm down." Ben said.

He looked from Diego to Klaus, his brow knit tight in confusion as Klaus kept his gaze fully on Diego.

"Klaus, say something!"

Klaus didnt react, his attention fully on the situation around them.

"Wh-wh-why-y-y ca-can I-I-" Diego stopped, taking deep breaths as he heard Grace in the back of his mind. "W-why ca-can I-I-I s-see y-y-y-you?!"

The three living siblings all looked to each other. No matter how worked up he got, Diego never let them see him struggle with words, not like that. Slowly, Allison stood from the coffee table, being sure to give Diego his space as she stepped back.

"I'm going to call Vanya. I think we need to have a family meeting." She said.

Diego's eyes flicked in her direction momentarily before returning to the empty space he was burrowing holes into. Ben, feeling no threat from Diego's panic, took a step closer.

"Listen, you need to-" 

"Don't f-f-f-f..." His words trailed off for a moment as he took a deep breath, retaining some of his composure. "Don't _fucking_ tell me to calm down again!"

"Hurry." Luther said, nodding to Allison before she hurried out to the phone.


	4. Chapter 4

Vanya anxiously tapped her foot the whole bus ride back, feeling a bit like she was on a hamster wheel. No, a hamster wheel would have her running and getting nowhere. This was more like a cycle, a loop from one family disaster to another. At least, she hoped, this one wouldn't be her fault, too. That anxiety bubbled within her as she hopped off the bus, duffle bag slung over her shoulder, making the several block trek back to the old academy. The family home.

Pushing her way inside, Vanya heard Diego and Luther yelling from the drawing room, scurrying over quickly and dropping her bag at the door.

"What's going on?" She asked.

Diego was still frozen to his spot in front of the couch, knife in hand but not in a threatening way. Given his training, it seemed more like a security item as he yelled at Luther, gesturing to the empty space beside him. Allison and Klaus stood closest to Vanya, waiting by the door in case anything happened, watching Luther witg his back against the wall across from them. Ben was the first to register her arrival, sighing with relief. 

"We have no clue." Allison said.

"Diego fainted after we went to lunch." Klaus started, his fingers hovering pensively over his lips as if he was smoking an invisible blunt. "Since he woke up he's been screaming about seeing Ben and how he's fine and we're the crazy ones." He chuckled in his sing song tone. "Well, less them and more me. I havent seen Ben since our little Houdini act."

Vanya let out a sigh. This was less than ideal. With Diego like this, looking more pissed off than she'd seen him even at the funeral last week, she knew lessons were cancelled until her apartment was good to go.

"Hey, Diego?" She said, trying to get his attention.

Diego jumped, obviously not having heard Canya arrive. She stepped closer, watching him carefully as he took deep breaths.

"What?" He was trying to sound tough, but they had talked since the apocalypse, she knew how much of this now was fear.

"Can we just talk about this? Like adults?"

That had been the wrong thing to say.

"Like adults?" He asked, his words cutting as sharp as his blades. "Like fucking adults? What do you think I've been trying to do?! These assholes aren't listening to me!"

Vanya tried to keep her instinctive flinch small, concealed.

"Hey!" Klaus stepped back into the fray. "Diego, fucking cool it!"

"Look who's talking, Mr. Human Ouija Board."

The yelling began up again, filling the room and spilling out into the rest of the house. It drew attention from the rest of the household, Five, Pogo, and Grace all finding their way to watch through the large doors and occasionally throw something out to get someone's attention. It all fell to deaf ears, the siblings too busy lashing out at each other as it grew louder and louder.

"God, Diego!" Klaus shouted, his voice cracking from the strain. "Would you just shut _up_!"

There was a sudden wave, a burst of energy flowing out from Klaus's skinny form through the room. Vanya was pushed forward against Diego, who in turn fell back into the couch. Luther and Allison were forced against the walls they had occupied across from each other, eyes wide in shock. When the sudden burst reached the three observers outside, it was little more than a breeze, but gave them an equal shock.

Everything was quiet after that. No one said a word as they looked around the room, mouths gaping. Everyone turned to Klaus, seeing the equal shock on his face as his mouth opened and closed like a fish without words.

"Did... Did I do that?" He asked.

Vanya was the first to break the silence. Removing herself from on top of Diego, she watched Klaus in wide eyed astonishment.

"That's my power." She said.

It felt like a stupidly plain statement, but it was true. In the hysteria and theatrics of their fighting, Klaus weilded her ability to convert sound into energy with very little effort. Just as Diego saw Ben. And she threw Mr. Puddles ten feet with no effort.

"We swapped powers."

It was Five who spoke up from the doorway, everyone turning to see him and their former guardians standing.

"But, that..." Allison looked around her siblings before swallowing thickly.

"Told you, I'm not sick." Diego said.

"Now, would any of you care to explain how these..." Pogo started, "These transferances came to pass?"

"Easy." Five said, the shadow of a smile on his lips as all the pieces feel together in his mind. "We warped together, which in theory is no big deal."

"But?" Luther asked, not appreciating the slow ease his brother was taking to explain.

"But!" Five couldn't help a boyish laugh. "But, in reality a warp is much more complex. To transfer one thing to another is to transport atom after atom from one existing location to another. And what happens when you add five-"

"Six." Diego corrected, his eyes flicking to Ben.

"-six new bodies of atoms to the equation?"

"They mix." Luther stated.

"Exactly."

Everyone took the moment of silence to process what was being said. What had happened. It was both complex but simple to understand. Somewhere in the warp, in that split millisecond, all their atoms scrambled and reassembled and whatever was responsible for their powers switched around.

"Pogo," Luther said, "did dad ever look into what cause our abilities?"

"I'm afraid if he did, he never divulged that information to me, Master Luther." Pogo informed him.

"Bullshit." Five accused, turning sharply and heading in the direction of Reginalds abandoned office.

"Five, wait!" Allison followed behind, still wrapping her head around what that meant.

Pogo followed suit, leaving the last five Hargreeves and their mother as an uncomfortable silence settled in. Swallowing thickly, Klaus watched Diego closely, watching as he stared at the blank space Ben must have been occupying. It was a relief and terrifying. Not once in his life, without drugs, had Klaus not seen ghosts. But now that power rested in his brother. His strong, brave, but brash brother. That was what terrified him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter!! From here on out it's mostly going to be one on one exploring sibling relationships I love or want to see expanded more. While I have many planned, I want to know what y'all want to see explored more.  
> Btw, Diego lovers go check out my new fic I'm writing along with this one called I Don't Need My Heart. It's a short fic with its first chapter out following Diego as he's compelled to help a teen runaway junkie and the ensuing emotional baggage.

"Five, slow down!" Allison called, following her brother into the abandoned study.

Ignoring her, Five began tearing through the large desk. It was old, ornate, and locked, the drawers not yielding no matter how hard he pulled. With a heavy sigh, he looked to Pogo, who shrank away from the entrance. Pogo had the keys, of course he did, but dilvuging every secret Reginald left was so far beyond the dying wishes he demanded of Pogo. Despite not being around anymore, the chimp felt a great need to uphold the secrets left, if not to protect the children from secrets they would rather not know.

"Five." Allison tried to get her brothers attention.

"Not right now, I'm busy." Five snapped, dropping to his knees and bending two strat paperclips into shapes.

"This is... I dont even know what this is, but we have to talk as a family." She continued. "We dont know the last five of our powers- I mean, who got them."

"I need absolute silence to concentrate."

There was no convincing him. Allison huffed, looking back at Pogo as his eyes traced patterns on the floor.

"I believe, at this time," Pogo struggled with his words, "it is best we leave Number Five to his queries."

"Five, please..." Allisom turned back to Five, watching the top of his head from behind the desk. "We need to figure out who got what first so nothing bad happens. We can look for the solution later, let's just focus on damage control first. Can you imagine what's going to happen to who ever got Ben's power?"

"You mean, if Ben's ability was even factored into this mess." Five pointed out. "We don't even know if he was able to warp with us, let alone if his death means he can transfer power."

This didnt satisfy Allison, her attention snapping back to Five as she prayed for a little chance. Knowing all the karmic payback from years of abusing her power, Allison wouldn't have the luck to be left out of the swap, but she still hoped for a moment.

"I heard a rumor..." She felt no power behind her words, not the same flow of energy behind her conviction. "...that you came downstairs with me and listened for once."

Five looked up from her work, watching Allison for a moment before cracking a smile.

"I applaud your determination." He said and turned his view back down to his work.

There was a satisfying pop and a proud cheer, and Pogo couldnt help but sigh.

"Miss Allison-"

"Five, we need to deal with this as a family."

He began shuffling through papers, skimming lines quickly. Nothing was off limits now, and Five intended to learn everything he could. Everything about them, the other children, what made them tick. Five wanted to know it all.

"Five!"

"Not now."

"I think it best-"

"Pogo, please give us-"

"I'm not going."

"You're being irrational."

"Please, your fath-"

"Five!"

Five slammed down the papers, walking out from behind the desk with all the fury of a thirteen year old boy, glaring holes into his sister.

"You want to investigate this as a family? Fine, let's see what I got!" Five spat. "I heard a rumor you didnt talk to me for the rest of the night." 

There was a churning in Five's gut, an ecstatic rush that made every hair on his body stand on end. He could almost see the words as he watched Allison breathlessly gap at him. If she was going to be shrill enough to try her power on him, even if it didnt work, Five was going to match her level. Allison tried to speak, watching him as not a sound escaped. All Five did was smile like the smug child he truly was.

"Well, there you go." He said. "Three powers down, four to go."

 He gave the heavy door a tap, watching it slowly close and conceal his sister and Pigo behind it. Five found a small measure of satisfaction from having silenced his sister, when saying her iconic line he didnt even know if he had gotten her ability. He supposed if he hadn't and the trick didn't work, the bruised ego would have forced him to join the rest downstairs if they hadn't dispersed like cats with new toys.

Outside the door, Allison watched the door in awe. Five, her own doting brother who had been an ass but so sweet to his sisters as kids, had used her power against her to take away her voice. Or at least, her choice to talk to him.

"I can't believe this!" She huffed, turning back to Pogo.

His eyes hadn't left the carpet, an anxious sweat breaking out across his forehead. 

"Dad has more secrets about us, ones even you don't know, doesn't he?" She asked, her voice low.

"Right now, our concern should be on your siblings." Pogo deflected her comment, finally meeting Allison's gaze. "I'm so sorry."

There was a sincerity in his warm eyes Allison didn't like. Usually that look came when Pogo had helped one of them out with a difficult problem, when Allison made her first goal without her power as a child, when Vanya announced her acceptance to the orchestra. But this was a less happy occasion.

 


	6. Chapter 6

"You've got to be kidding me." Diego says, eyes still forward at the empty space Ben stood.

He'd adjusted well, Klaus thought, now that he realized Ben wasn't a hallucination. Diego and Ben had spent that time catching up, finally able to communicate without the in between of Klaus. It was nice, nicer than Diego even thought. He hadn't realized how much he really missed Ben.

"What are you two gossiping about?" Klaus inquired, strutting over.

"Our sweet baby brother has a lot of dirt on you." Diego sneered. "You should have been a lot nicer."

Klaus's eyes went wide, shooting a panicked and pissed off glare in Ben's general direction.

"You snitch!" He spat.

Ben couldnt help his laugh, snorting as Klaus's gaze missed his by a few inches.

"Told you." Ben said through laughter. "Okay, now say 'So that's where it went?'"

"So that's where it went?" Diego copied, his head tilted dramatically.

"Ben, you asshole!" Klaus shouted, turning on his heels and hurrying out the drawing room and up the stairs.

The two brothers dissolved into a fit of laughter at Klaus's panic. In his death, Ben had become the funnier of the Hargreeves kids. It had been years since Diego enjoyed himself this much with his family. The last time he could imagine enjoying time with his brothers like this, he and Klaus had gone drinking together. The one time he actively enabled Klaus's addiction, and they had a blast. Laughed, remembered happy stories from childhood, made a bet who could get more phone numbers. Klaus had been so drunk he didnt notice Diego writing them out himself on spare napkins.

"What did Ben say?" Luther asked from his seat across from Diego.

Diego shrugged off the question, watching as Allison stormed back in, alone this time.

"Everybody sit down and shut up, we're getting this figured out now before any of us goes dark side again." She barked, walking around the room for a pen and some paper.

The three brothers all looked to each other for a moment, exchanging glances but not daring to say a word.

"Okay..." Allison set out her paper on the bar, taking deep breaths as she scribbled. "If Klaus has Vanya's power, and she has Luther's... then Diego and Klaus... Five has mine..."

"Five's got your power?" Diego piped up, looking back at his sister.

She shot him a nasty glare, standing up straight as every inch of her posture seethed with a hard to pick pin down anger.

"Yes, our dear little brother has my power and has rumored me not to talk to him for the rest of the night when our biggest priority should be helping each other out."

It took everything in Diego not to laugh, slowly turning back and his gaze peeping back at Ben. Expecting to see the same shocked but entertained expression, he was shocked to see a face inches from his. Grey, sagging, eyes rolled back and jaw slack and loose.

"Fuck!" He screamed.

He jumped back, falling over himself to get away.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Allison yelled, throwing down her pen.

"Its a goddamn demon! What the fuck!"

Luther stood, stuck between attacking and not even knowing what was happening.

"Its not, thats... " Ben sighed, watching the ghost as it reached out a boney hand towards Diego. "Its just a ghost, like me."

"Die-"

"That thing looking nothing like you, dude!" 

"Its just... older? I guess?" Ben shrugged. "We don't know what makes those ghosts different, really."

"Help me... save us..." The revolting figure wheezed, slowly crawling over the arm of the couch and reaching closer.

"No, no, no!" Diego yelled, running from the figure and upstairs. "Fuck this shit!"

Left in silence, Allison and Luther looked from the door to each other, a resigned and tired look on both their faces. The last several hours had felt just as exhausting as their brush with death the week before. If it hadn't been for an off chance that let them save Vanya, they would have been dead. And this, the new looming fear Allison felt if they didnt learn their new powers and abilities, wouldnt leave the pit of her stomach.

"We're a mess." She said after a long pause. "We're an absolute mess."

Luther sighed, walking to his sister and placing a hand on her shoulder. He squeezed gently before remembering he didnt have to be nearly as restrained as he'd been trained to be his whole life.

"You take a load off, call Claire and try to calm down." Luther said, a soft smile on his lips. "I'll try and wrangle everyone and we can discuss this over dinner. It's getting late."

It was so tempting, Allison felt like she should protest and continue her quest rounding up cats. But Luther was insistent, his eyes showing the genuine worry for his sister as she let out a deep breath.

"Okay, okay, but just so I can tell Claire goodnight." She relented.

Luther smiled, watching as Allison strutted away to make her call. Looking down at the list she had made, he began pondering the siblings left. Him, Allison, and perhaps even Ben. The jury was still out on Ben. There was a lot still out on Ben, but most of all the fact that he was still there. The weight of Ben's death weighed heavy on Luther, just as it did for everyone, especially Klaus. He wondered how that guilt had translated in their continued relationship for the last thirteen years. Had Ben forgiven him?

The thought was interrupted as a sudden scream ripped through the house, crashing and banging from downstairs shaking the whole home. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man I love the comments y'all keep posting. You're all so sweet, and even when I feel like a chapter was a flop you say the kindest things. I feel so motivated to write more, and I hope y'all dont mind last chapters cliffhanger hanging on a little longer 😅

Klaus rummaged through his childhood hiding place in the attic, finding the last of the things he'd snatched from Diego and running back downstairs. If Ben was gonna snitch, he was gonna have to be faster. After all, he still had a couple spot Ben absolutely couldn't know the location of. Unless he was watching Klaus now.

The paranoia froze him in his tracks as Klaus pushed open the bathroom door. That was a hood point, he couldnt see Ben anymore. He couldnt see Ben anymore. That was a new thought, and an infinitely lonely one at that. Despite the new found closeness of the Hargreeves, Klaus still felt like an outsider, because only Ben really got what he had been through. Now he was really alone.

It was a blessing and a curse.

With a deepbreath, Klaus shook off the thought and pushed through, locking the bathroom door and laying his childhood treasures on the floor. An action figure, set of fingerless gloves much too small now, a Playboy magazine, and toy gun he was still proud of turning into a bong as a teen. All this, and a few more trinkets, Klaus had swiped from Diego as kids. As adults, there was little reason for Klaus to still be so paranoid of being found out, everyone knew he had stolen from them at least once, but there was still that little voice telling Klaus to hide.

Reaching behind the toilet, Klaus pulled up a chunk of tiles nestled in place and revealed a hole. He pulled from the whole a wooden box, stopping to breath a moment before opening it. Klaus almost forgot about this stashed, the last place he had hidden away drugs in the family home. A packet of round pills and stale weed stared up at Klaus from the box, but without hesitation he opened the baggie and dropped them into the toilet, flushing several times.

He waited then, taking deep breaths and remembering his more important mission. The stolen goods fit almost perfectly, the vintage Playboy folding up and barely fitting before everything was placed back into its hiding place. Unless Ben was intent on exposing him, there was no longer evidence Klaus had done a thing.

Satisfied with his work, Klaus wandered out of the bathroom, hands shoved deep in his vest pockets. Towards the end of the hall, he could hear a faint whisper of cussing and pleading. For once, he didnt turn around and hightail it, because for once it wasnt a ghost. The whispers got louder as Diego came into view, his gaze pointed straight to the floor as he blocked something to his left from view, muttering profanities.

"Hey there, brother-oh-mine." Klaus greeted, slinging an arm over Diego's shoulder. "And what are you doing this fine evening?"

"You didn't tell me Ben isn't the only damn ghost in this place." Diego snapped, eyes quickly moving to Klaus's.

"Ooooh shit... yeah."

Diego raised his eyebrows, scowling harder than Klaus had seen before. For such a brooding man, Diego really could reach new levels when pushed.

"Yeah."

Klaus sighed and began guiding Diego through the hall.

"Well, um, so... What's it been so far?" He asked.

"Besides Ben?" Diego said, his tone laced with frustration. "White eyed lady crawling very slowly around downstairs, creepy kid with a bullet between his eyes, and some hanging lady that some how keeps appearing in new places."

Despite the frustration, Klaus had to give it to his brother, he was processing it in probably a healthier way than he had. Instead of fright and avoidance, Diego was pissed off and avoiding the ghosts by walking away. Much healthier than anything Klaus ever did before getting sober.

 "Okay, that's...  that's about par for the course." Klaus sighed, wandering along with Diego down the hall.

"Yeah, I know, Ben." Diego snapped. "Sorry, I'm sorry."

"How's old Benny boy?"

"Same annoying know it all." Diego chuckled.

"Yeah, well, some things never change." Klaus laughed.

The banter went on, Klaus focusing on distracting Diego as well as possible through their wandering of the house. Despite the reasoning, it was nice. The three brothers, while one only in half the conversation, were bonding again. The three amigos back together. Almost like old times.

 "Hey, these... ghosts?" Diego started, finding it hard to put the right words together. "Y-you... you saw these all the time?"

"Hey, needed some kind if company while you all were busy brooding." Klaus laughed.

Diego didn't laugh along, his expression sullen and full of concern. His brow knit together as he watched Klaus, the laughter laced with exhaustion.

"Yeah, yeah, I've always seen them." Klaus confessed. "Cant remember a time I didn't."

"How the fuck have you stayed... mostly... sane." Diego cracked a smile, giving a nudge with his elbow.

"Oh my god, Diego made a joke!" Klaus let out a cackle, his arm around Diego's shoulder suddenly squeezing him into a headlock and tussling his short hair.

The two laughed, Diego easily slipping out of Klaus's grasp and tapping him upside the head. He knew Klaus was deflecting, but part of him didn't mind. The two hadn't joked like this in a long time, and despite the hectic few weeks the family had it felt good to blow off some steam.

"Shit!" Diego snapped, stumbling back a few steps and spinning away from the offending ghost that appeared before him.

"Sir... please..." The little boy muttered, his cold eyes staring deeply into Diego.

"Hey, hey, hey, Didi, what is it?" Klaus hurried in front of Diego, hands on his shoulders and directing his gaze to meet his own. "Talk to me, big guy, what is it?"

"T-th-that ki-kid." Diego managed to stutter.

Klaus scanned the area, his nose scrunched up in distaste at the apparition. It was a slow onset of ghosts as Diego's new power unfolded themselves.

"Come on, buddy, let's get out of here." Klaus pulled his brother back down the hall. "How about we go see a movie! Doesn't that sound fun? Everyone here's all piss and vinegar right now anyways."

Taking deep breaths, his eyes still screwed shut, Diego nodded quickly as he was guided away. He took long, deep breaths through his nose, focusing his mind on calming down. The ghosts couldn't follow him everywhere. Was Klaus just used to these things?

"Hey, isn't Allison's last movie in theaters right now?" Klaus chuckled. "Yeah, she was at the premier when the old guy kicked it! Wanna go see it and we can give her our best-"

Klaus was cut off, a sudden scream cutting through the halls as the two men stood suddenly at attention. Looking between themselves, Klaus and Diego turned back to the direction they heard the scream.

"Allison."


	8. Chapter 8

The collective scramble to the downstairs was deafening. Five grown adults running all towards the staircase adjacent to the downstairs phone, only to see the oldest of their sisters held up in the corner shaking. Tears ran down Allison's dark cheeks, every inch if her shaking with some inconsolable terror as she gasped for air.

"Stop!" She cried out, holding up her hands. "Don't get closer!"

"Allison, what's wrong?!" Luther asked, his face full of panic and fear.

Mouth gaped, searching for words, Allison could only gasp as whimpers escaped. Vanya approached first, slowly inching closer, reaching a hand out.

"Its okay, we-"

"Stay back!" Allison yelled. "I dont want to hurt you..."

Everyone looked around at each other before Ben let out a long and low breath, lowering himself onto a step.

"Shit."

"What?" Diego looked down at his brother.

"I think... she has my power."

Diego's heart dropped then.

"Allison..." Diego said, keeping his voice soft. "Allison, did you... di-did you... did you get Ben's power?"

The other siblings stopped, looking back at Diegonwith wide eyes. Ben sighed, his face falling into his hands. Of course, of course Ben's powers were swapped, he had been part of the warp thanks to Klaus's manifestation abilities. And now Allison was living with his nightmare.

Vanya looked from Diego to Allison, her heart sinking as she saw her nod weakly. The terror in Allison's face was unlike anything she'd seen, unlike the fear she saw even when Vanya threatened her at the cabin. How close they had been to losing everything that night, neither could forget. Slowly, she continued inching closer, keeping within arms reach and grasping Allison's hand tightly.

"Its okay."

That was the last straw, sending Allison down into hysterics. She fell to her knees, sobbing hard as Vanya followed and quickly wrapped her arms around her. Luther was the first to break from the group, dropping to his knees next to his little sisters and wrapping his arms around both of them. Despite the terror and fear, the intense want Allison felt to push her siblings away before those things burst forth again, she felt an odd comfort being surrounded by them.

How many times had she cried alone with no one there to hold her? It hurt, remembering all those times, those times she wished she could reach out to Luther or Ben but realized they were gone.

Eventually, the panic settled, Allison between her big brother and little sister taking deep, shaky breaths. They still held tight as she finally relaxed, her hand slowly moving to her chest. Every inch of her shook and ached, the sudden explosion of monstrous tendrils leaving her in a state of shock.

"I... I cant..." Allisom whispered.

"Its going to be okay." Vanya muttered.

She wished it was a promise, but the reality was there was no promise, not for any of them. There was no sure chance everything would be okay with everyone in this state. With everyone possessing foreign and unfamiliar powers. It was hard, it was scary.

"Diego?" Ben spoke up. "I think... I think I can help her."

"Yeah, I think so too." Diego agreed.

The others looked to Diego as he chatted with Ben, a shadow cast over his expression.

"Do you think..." Ben started before his brow knit together, falling back into deep thought.

"Think what?"

Ben looked around the group and shook his head, eyeing Klaus for a brief moment.

"Do you think you'd be able to materialize me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was way shorter than usual, I'll try and make it up next time. This was just hard to get through for some reason. Also was I just super obvious about Allisom getting Ben's power? 🤣


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoy this! I'm starting to slowly explain the way the almost apocalypse goes in this AU ti explain Allison still talking and the lack of destruction. Alsi slowly tapping into how I think Ben died, do y'all want me to state it out right in another chapter?

It was a distinctly frustrating situation. Diego, sat on one of Klaus's many cushions, Ben, sat across from him on a similar cushion, and Klaus, perched at the foot of his bed and watching his brothers intently as the played an intense game of patty cake. It was a familiar situation for Klaus, but this time he was trying to coach Diego through this unorthodox training situation.

"I feel like an idiot." Diego said, his hands dropping into his lap.

"That's because you are, but that's beyond the point." Klaus sighed and fell back on the bed, rubbing at his eyes. "Just... lord, I dont even know how I did it!"

"Then what's the point of this?" Ben asked.

"What's the point then?" Diego translated.

"I dont know, I just know we did this for, like, hours after the first time he punched me." Sitting back up, Klaus rested his head in his hands.

"Why dont we go over that incident first and we can go back from there."

Of course that was a good point, a good point Klaus hadn't even thought over. Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he began to go over the night in his mind. So much had been going on, so much he was left out of, so much Klaus still didn't understand.

"It was the night we saved Vanya. After getting back from the cabin and all of you were deciding what to do with Vanya's boyfriend, I just couldn't deal with it so I came up here." Klaus began to remember. "I was so tired and just... wanted to be numb again."

"Wait," Diego interrupted, "you were sober that night?"

Ben and Klaus sighed in unison, making Diego consider for a moment that despite the lack of communication his brothers were still tightly bonded.

"Yeah, for, like, two days or something." Klaus continued. "I was... I wanted... I just needed a clear head to think about some shit. But after almost losing Allison and Vanya to that scumbag, I was so scared."

Klaus was starting to get emotional, the faint pittering of rain against the window echoing through the room. A breeze blew through Diego and he remembered Klaus's new powers, quickly moving to the bed and wrapping an arm around Klaus's shoulders. Klaus took the invitation to lay his head against his shoulder, taking deep breaths.

"But we didn't lose them, we got there before anything bad happened." Diego squeezed gently, rocking Klaus slowly.

"I know..."

There was a long silence as the three sat together like that, counting their lucky stars things didn't end up far, far worse. Ben was the first to break the silence, clearing his throat to get Diego's attention. He nodded and patted Klaus's shoulder.

"What happened after that?" He asked.

"Well..." Klaus chuckled as he remembered the rest of the night. "I found some pills I had stashed away and we argued. Ben kept trying to remind me to stay sober, I had reasons to keep it up, that everything was okay now and we could forget about it all. I didnt care at the time so i popped them and he got me with a mean right hook."

Diego chuckled, patting Klaus's shoulder before standing. He walked in front of Ben as he stood, both taking deep breaths.

"Its just about the emotion, right?" Diego asked. "It was a high strung moment, that's it, that's all it is." 

Closinghis eyes, Diego conjured up memories to try and excite himself. The first time he fought with Reginald after Five left, when he packed up his belongings and hightailed it out of the Academy, when he was kicked out of the police academy. It all bubbled up, along with a confused feeling of anger and sadness and regret. Yes, all those feelings, that had to be what Klaus felt in that moment. He wanted to be numb but he felt it all.

Ben followed suit. He remembered that night with Klaus. He remembered the confusion, frustration, and most of all disappointment. Over all the years, he had seen Klaus at his absolute lowest and had been so proud of him getting clean. Klaus only fell deeper into drugs after he died, bearing all the blame himself like a conviction and the drugs, aside from the relief of the ghosts, were his prison sentence.

Both feeling ready, they looked each other deep in the eyes, focusing everything on the emotions they felt. The pain, the hurt, and confusion. Ben slowly raised a fist, pulling back and letting it fly.

"Well?" Klaus asked.

There was a collective sigh, Ben's punch barely making a breeze.

"What do you think, smartass?" Diego dropped back onto the bed, rubbing his face.

Ben chewed on his lip as he watched Klaus. There was probably something important they bad left out, but Ben didnt know how to asked Klaus to talk about it without revealing everything to Diego. But that little detail could be the answer to why it didn't work.

"Hey... you-you should ask him about Vietnam." Ben said. "I think that's why it didn't work."

"What the fuck does Vietname have to do with this, Ben?"

Klaus froze, eyes going glassy for a moment before he took a deep breath.

"Because... because the reason Ben told me to stay sober was because of Dave." He said slowly.

"Who's D-Dave?" Diego asked.

There was a long silence as Klaus mulled over everything in his brain, beginning to form his explanation.

"Dave... was my boyfriend." He began. "We met in 1968, soldiering together in 'Nam."

For a moment, Diego wanted to snap. This wasnt the time to go over a bad trip and his weird hallucinations, but then he remembered who Klaus had become, how quickly he went from cracked out and fancy free to stoic and stone cold sober. And besides, time traveling was now the most normal mode of transportation at this point.

"He was... God, he was fantastic." Klaus laughed, eyes slowly turning wet and full. "Dave was kind, and strong, and beautiful..."

"Hey, y-y-you-" Diego started, placing a gentle hand on Klaus's knee.

"No, I do." He said quickly. "I was ready to follow him to the ends of the earth, and he always said he would too... I only got to follow him to the front lines."

Before he could say more, Diego pulled Klaus into a tight hug, settling his head at the crook of his neck. The tears fell hard, gentle sobs wracking the skinny man as he wrapped his arms around Diego's waist in response. What they'd missed was the love. All those emotions Klaus felt were tangled up in love, and his desperation to see Dave again.

It hurt so bad remembering Dave, everything in Klaus cried out for him. It had from the very moment he returned, full of pain and love and anger. And there was so much frustration now. Frustration of sobriety and frustration in his powers, desperate to see Dave again but with no results. Had the others even noticed the days Klaus had locked himself in the attic just willing his love to appear?

All that frustration came out now as he clutched ti his brother, sobbing harder than he had since they were seventeen. Ben couldnt watch, his head turning away as tears came to his eyes as well. Diego did his best to soothe Klaus, rubbing a hand up and down his back and ignoring the wavering shadow of a ghost in the corner of his eye.


	10. Chapter 10

No one pointed it out, but the tension in the room was palpable. Allison had fallen into a deep, sob induced sleep while holding Vanya's hand, the younger rubbing circles on her back. It felt like something real sisters would do, which Vanya had to remind herself they were real sisters after thinking it. But Luther, the awkward and large figure that took up resident in the chair by the window, awkwardly looked around the room in his protest to leave.

"Please just say it." Vanya broke the silence.

"Say what?" Luther moved his gaze to his sisters, landing on Vanya.

"Last week... when you sealed up Le- Harold downstairs where dad used to put me... I heard what you told Five."

Luther swallowed, suddenly going rigid. That night, the night before Vanya's concert and the end of the world, had been a tense one. It was just moments before Vanya almost lost it that her brothers charged into the chaos and stopped her rage as Allison and Harold Jenkins fought for her like some weak child who needed protecting. Protecting from the other. After that, everything was a blur of crying and yelling and eventually blissful sleep. But one thing stuck out clearly in Vanya's mind.

"I'm sorry."

The two met eyes, almost like for the first time they recognized each other.

"W-what?" Vanya's forehead created up as she processed the words.

"I'm sorry, Vanya." Luther said again. "I... I didn't mean what I said. Well, actually I did,  but that was when... Dad's... Everything Reginald taught us..." He stopped himself, taking a deep breath. "Growing up, everything Reginald drilled into me was about being Number One, the leader of the Umbrella Academy, and protecting everyone. And in that moment, when I thought Allison may be in trouble, that's all I thought about."

Vanya's mouth went dry. That hadn't been what she expected at all, she expected him to blame her in some way for what happened and blame her for almost losing their family. As far back as memory served, this was the first time Luther really apologized to her for what he'd done.

"Oh... Thank you?" Vanya wasnt sure what else to say.

Luther nodded and looked away, feeling he'd done enough big brothering for now, he didnt want to screw it up.

"Luther?"

"Yeah?"

"You're an asshole." Vanya shot.

Eyes wide, Luther was about to shoot back at his sister before really looking at her. Where he expected anger, he saw hurt. Vanya's forehead was created up as her eyes dropped down, swimming in a sudden onslaught of tears. She still clutched tightly to Allison's hand like a protective blanket, something to keep her safe, as the tears began to roll.

"I know all that was because of dad, because of what he did to all of us, but you're still an asshole. You told Five that cell was for me, not L-Harold and you wanted to put me in there if I couldnt control my power. I... I heard it all." Vanya sobbed. "Do you know how much it hurts to hear that? After all the years I thought all of you hated me?"

Instead of fighting back, Luther nodded, listening with clenched jaw. He wanted so badly to fight back and tell her it was for the greater good, but that's what Reginald would have said. That's how Reginald would have reacted. Instead, Luther sat quietly and fought everything in him that said to defend himself and listened to his sobbing baby sister.

"All I wanted since we were children was to be one of you, to be special, and after finding out I was you wanted to lock me away so I couldnt be a part of all this!"

Allison began stirring, her groggy eyes opening slightly.

"Van... what's wrong...?" She croaked.

Quickly, Vanya dropped her hand and began wiping away tears, standing from the bed.

"Its nothing, nothing you need to worry about." Vanya quickly said. "Go back to sleep and we'll get you for dinner."

Settling back down, Allison's eyes fluttered shut as her hand flexed and relaxed. The room was quiet after that, not a sound made as silent tears fell down Vanya's face. The years of feeling abandoned had caught up with her, and having to face her siblings everyday until her apartment was secure again woukd only make it worse.

"Vanya-"

Before Luther could say anything, his sister was out the door, soft sobs trailing away. He jumped up, following quickly behind her. After all the years he had done wrong by the family, Luther didn't want to leave everything off like this.

"Vanya, wait!" He tried to keep up, large strides catching up to Vanya at her door. "Please, Vanya, I'm so sorry."

"If you're so sorry then why won't you even leave me alone with our family?" She spat. "Ever since that night you've always hovered, sat right there waiting and watching, just close enough to pounce like I'm a fucking threat! And even now, even when I dont have that power, you won't let me be with my own sister alone!"

It hit Luther like a rock. He had been hovering, lurking around Vanya as she became comfortable in the family home again. No matter who she was with, Luther kept a close eye on her. He hadn't really realized how closely he had done it till now.

"I'm so sorry." He said.

"If you're so sorry, then leave me alone!"

Vanya turned, yanking open her bedroom door and slamming it shut behind her. The echo went through the house, shaking the floor below Luther's feet. Standing there, confused, he tried to puzzle out what to do. He and Vanya really didn't know each other, not like he knew their siblings, they barely talked their whole lives. He cycled through plans and thoughts and sayings before a slow creaking caught his attention.

Turning around, down the hall he saw the door to Allison's room slowly click shut and lock.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, I want to apologize for my absence. Personal life and health had to take first place for a while and my chronic illness has made writing rather hard. Currently on the mend and should be back to manageable in the coming weeks, so updates will pick back up again.

Damn that old man. Five had rummaged through his office for hours, his singular focus on anything coming from 1989 and previously. Records on their maturation and infancy were abound, recording every detail and brainwave they experianced. Five had only read through some of those records in the hopes it would shine light onto his queries, but instead found an uncomfortable fondness and nostalgia reading about their infancy troubles. Seven children with extraordinary powers, and they were the biggest handful their seven plus nannies had to deal with.

There was a moment Five wondered if any of these entries had video evidence, especially the fits he read of from Diego.

Shaking those kind thoughts from his head, Fove stretched and looked to the windows shocked to see the sudden nighttime. The clock across from him confirmed it was late, he had probably missed dinner. Grace would have saved him a plate in the fridge, as she always did the nights he was excused from family dinner. Those nights were rare, but Reginald had thought the extra training built character and resilience. Dolores always said it made him a fool, sacrificing his wellbeing for trivial feats.

Her voice rang true in Five's mind and he sighed, pushing himself up from the hurricane of files and books across the floor. Making his way from the office to the basement kitchen, Five opened the fridge to find several plates sitting neatly in wait. Grace, being the doting mother she was, had even labelled them per child. Apparently Allison and Vanya were too busy to be bothered to eat dinner.

Shaking his head, Five took his own plate and closed the fridge. He watched it slowly turn through the microwave door and began pondering. All these years, all this research, and Reginald hadn't seemed to give much thought to the reason for their birth. Or at least, if he had he hadn't recorded it in an easily accessible manner. Leaving the siblings with yet another mystery.

"Oh shi-"

There was a sudden clattering from the stairs as Five turned, watching as Luther came awkwardly tumbling down and heard the smashing of the dinner plates he was bringing down.

"With all that noise I was expecting Klaus to be coming down." Five said in his dry tone.

"Luther!"

Klaus and Diego weren't far behind their brother, helping him up and looking over the shattered plates.

"So who pushed him?" Five asked, pulling his plate from the microwave and seating himself at the breakfast table.

"I... jumped." Luther admitted.

Five stopped, slowly looking from his plate to his brother.

"You jumped?"

Luther nodded slowly as Klaus grabbed the dust pan and started slowly picking up pieces of plate with Diego. Luther walked around them to Five, earning a well deserved huff and glare from his younger brothers.

"I-I was just thinking about coming down here so we could wash up for mom and then I- well you saw!" He motioned wildly to the stairs. "I was just... there."

"Well, if you could just be here helping with your mess, it would be much appreciated." Diego snapped.

The two exchanged a look before Luther obliged and kneeled down reluctantly. The mess was quickly resolved, Five still mulling over his pork chops and potatoes as Luther oriented himself.

"Well?" Luther asked.

"Well what?" Five looked up.

"Well, are... can you help?"

"With what?" He turned his attention back to the potatoes and stabbed one, its starchy mass crumbling under the force.

"We don't know how much longer we're going to have our powers swapped, I figured you would be on the train of everyone learning to control their powers." Luther said.

"I am." Five set down his fork, leaning closer as he folded his hands. "But currently, my focus is on getting our powers switched back. As soon as possible."

Klaus snorted, being quickly dragged away by the back of his vest like a disobedient kitten by Diego. They muttered to each other up the stairs out of ear shot as Five and Luther kept their attention on each other.

"We should be discussing that as a family." Luther said.

"You know, even as kids you didnt give much to the idea of family," Five chuckled, "but this last week I've heard you sat family almost as much as you say moon."

"This is serious."

"So am I."

Luther leaned back and took a deep breath, eyeing down his thirteen year old brother. Or was it his fifty eight year old brother?

"You've been in dads study all day and havent found anything. I think that's a sign we need to regroup as a family and help-"

"How do you know what I have and havent found?" Five spat.

"Because if you had found anything, you would have marched your scrawny, little ass through this house for a family meeting. But while we've been keeping tabs on our powers, helping each other, and taking care of Allison - whom I may add, you didn't seem to even care about when she was screaming for help - you've been in dads study without a care in the world."

Five watched his brother for a moment. It was long, slow, drawn out, all while he went over what he had learned today. Luther was right, he hadn't learned anything useful to return their powers to normal. But what he had learned was rather different. Nothing ground breaking, just interesting.

Wity a sigh, Five stood and picked up his plate, returning it to the fridge and placing his knife and fork into the sink. Luther wouldn't be happy and leave him to his work without something.

"In layman's terms, to jump you want to focus on a fixed point. Don't jump anywhere you dont know, the math is too complex."

"Okay?" Luther crossed his arms and watched as Five began his walk towards the stairs.

"Oh, and Luther?" He turned, looking at the blond as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets. "One thing I did learn while going through dads things."

"Which is?"

"We had the same mother."


	12. Chapter 12

"Man, you're such a buzzkill!" Klaus whined as Diego pulled him up the stairs by his vest.

"And you're an ass." Diego shot back. "Just give them some space, we'll deal with Five later.

"You know, it was pretty rude of him to leave us to deal with all this one man down." Klaus shook off his brothers grip and readjusted his vest. "Gotta respect his enders."

"Yeah, and you better learn to respect your fifty eight year old brother."

The two shared a chuckle before Klaus's face fell. All day, Diego had acted okay, but he wasnt sure if that was genuine or a mask to hide his fear. The things Diego described before, they were just the tip of the iceberg.

"How are you doing?" Klaus asked.

There was a long pause. He'd caught Diego off guard, a crack in his face showing the tired stress behind his smile. Of course he was tired, he never smiled as much as today unless he was hiding something. That was the thing about Diego, he never made his problems others. He refused.

"I should be asking you that, little bro." He laughed. "You haven't made anything explode yet and you're sober, I'd think you'd be blowing shit up left and right."

"Yeah, but I've been in and out of rehab and court ordered therapy for over a decade. So, unlike the rest of you maladjusted children-" Diego had to laugh, to which Klaus joined. "-I can cope with the bullshit."

"Sure you can." Diego clapped a hand on his brothers shoulder, squeezing.

In any other context, it would have been a sarcastic jab, but that was how Diego talked. He really was proud of Klaus for how well adjusted he was compared to the rest. Sobering up had done a lot too, helped with the manic mood swings and articulating his frustration. Despite everything, he probably was the better off of them all.

"Its late, I'll see you in the morning."

"You sure?" Klaus watches Diego's expression closely. "We can try and get more practice in, if you want."

Diego looked to Ben who shrugged, and back at Klaus.

"Maybe in the morning."

"Okay..." Klaus gave the room a quick look over before shrugging and heading to the stairs. "Night."

As soon as Klaus had made it far enough to be sure he wasnt turning back, Diego let out a long sigh and walked slowly into the drawing room, closing the doors behind his as his head throbbed.

"You should have told him." Ben snapped.

The yelling was too much, it had been all night, but damn it if Diego was going to hint that anything was wrong.

"How the fuck did he do this?" He asked, trudging towards the liquor cabinet and pulling out a scotch. "God I need a drink."

The look on Ben's face was hard to decipher. Something sad, disappointed, familiar. It was a look Diego didnt like.

"What?" 

"Are you sure you really should be drinking right now?" He asked, perching himself at the bar as Diego set out two glasses.

There was a moment of hesitation as he poured, suddenly remembering his brother, sweet Benny boy, couldnt drink with him.

"How are you able to stay so sane when no one can see you?" He asked, setting aside the bottle.

"Well, honestly?" Ben sighed, watching Diego sip st the scotch. "Because Klaus could see me. From the moment he was able to see me, he was an anchor in the..."

Ben's words trailed off, swallowing thickly.

"What?" Diego leaned in.

"... the void this plane is."

Diego set down his drink, mind beginning to spiral down thoughts he didnt want to have.

"So, like... it's a whole world on top of ours? And Klaus's power is just... looking into another world?"

Ben nodded.

"And do... do a-all dead pe-people..."

Ben couldnt hold his brothers gaze anymore, he knew what he was fishing for.

"I dont know where we go after this. It's more like a limbo before whatevers next, having to deal with whatever keeps us attached to this world."

"Oh."

Diego sipped on his drink and took several deep breaths.

"Diego, I'm sure she's-"

"What?" Diego looked up, feeling the relaxing wash of alcohol seeming into his muscles.

There was several moments he sat there blinking at the empty seat, watching what once was Ben's ghostly form. Now an empty chair. A completely empty chair.

"Ben?" He called out, setting down the glass and walking around the bar.

Crossing his arms, Diego looked around the drawing room. He was alone. Diego whipped around then, looking at the glass of scotch as the puzzle pieces fell together. Watching his brother, Ben felt a sense of dread overcome him. He had watched Klaus those eight weeks his jaw was wired shut, high off his ass and finally at peace, realizing intoxication kept the ghosts away.

"Diego, please don't..." 

Taking a deep breath, Diego turned on his heels and ran from the drawing room, making his way up the stairs and out of sight. Ben knew what this meant, and it was either really good or really bad. Swiveling around, he looked towards the shadowy corners of the room, at the figure he'd seem there all day.

"You know, you're no good hiding anymore."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man y'all's comments are so sweet. And also very entertaining. Also some of y'all give me very fun ideas for directions to take this story.

Klaus didnt know how to process his bedroom door slamming open as he's half undressed getting ready for bed, but he especially doesnt know how to process it when he's suddenly trapped in one of Diego's bear hugs and listening to his worried but furious ranting. Why hadn't Klaus told them the truth? Why didn't he tell anyone about the ghosts? Why didn't he come to them for help? It was a lot. It took Klaus a good while to calm Diego down and finally get out if him what happened.

"Why did you realize you could make them go away?" Diego asked, point blank.

"I..." 

Well, that was a story Klaus didn't like talking about. A story Diego found a fond memory of brotherly annoyance. Letting out a heavy sigh, Klaus obliged.

"Remember when we were kids, and I fell down the stairs in Grace's heels?" Klaus started.

"Shit..."

"Eight weeks of our bliss and utter silence." Klaus chuckled darkly and shook his head. "That's when I learned to fake it for the drugs, go Grace and Pogo so worried about my pain, but good old papa thought it would build character. So of course he cut off my drugs and I faked my slow recovery."

"Klaus, I-I-I had n-n-"

"I know."

The room grew quiet for a while as Diego processed everything Klaus told him.

"Hey, Didi?" Klaus asked.

"Yeah?" Diego looked up at his brother.

"Are you drunk?"

They looked at each other for a moment before Diego cracked. He broke out into laughter as it all became clear in his eyes. Yeah, he wasn't really drunk, but a good glass of scotch had loosened him up enough to bother Klaus with his concern. No stoic, loner wolf persona after tonight. Klaus would totally blow the top off that first chance he got.

Klaus couldn't help but laugh along. Rare was the time he saw Diego "My Body Is A Temple" Hargreeves intoxicated. He was the stone cold sober type most of the time, rarely indulging in intoxicating and reckless behavior. He really was Klaus's perfect foil. Keyword being was.

"Guess I am a little tipsy." Diego finally said as he calmed down. "Look, bro, I'm sorry."

"Oh god, please don't do the whole mush-"

"No, no, I'm doing it, and you're going to be a good little brother and listen." Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I'm sorry I never helped or tried to understand why you ended up the way you did. W- I assumed it was just the natural next step after being teenaged superheroes. Burn out and get fucked up."

"Gee, thanks." Klaus snipped.

"But now I know what it really was. And I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I wasnt there to help you, o-or to be th-"

"Diego, please..." Klaus took a deep breath. "Thank you, but that's over now."

The quiet took over again as the uncomfortable side of the situation came out. The laughter was done, and both were faced with the uncomfortable reality of it all. That Diego had been truly ignorant and thought it was just the inevitable truth Klaus would be an addict, search for release from the horror that was their childhood. That Klaus has been suffering since infancy, surrounded by the screams and cries of the undead, haunted by their presence until an unfortunate accident showed him release in the form of numbness. It was gut wrenching to think about, to know they were that out of touch. What had happened to the dorky brothers who spent their childhood afternoons making secret handshakes and living in the happy fantasy that one day they would save the world and be true heroes?

Now, sitting together, they were barely shadows of their former selves. Stunted, broken, scarred, molded into the soldiers their father - their commander - had wanted. But so much worse.

"If... if that's what you did, then..."

Getting the words out was hard, but the puzzle pieces of their lives were falling together, and Diego had many questions.

"Yeah?" Klaus asked.

"I just... i-i-if that's wh-what you were doing... when B-B-Be-Ben-"

Klaus didn't have to say anything, Diego stopped when he saw the look on his face. Considering the day they'd had, that was a step too far. Too deep in the well of trauma for anyone to deal with.

"Diego...?" Klaus asked, almost anxious after their conversation.

"Yeah?"

"I'd really like to go to bed now."

Diego became suddenly aware of the fact he had burst in unannounced, interrupting Klaus as he got ready for bed. He stood, nodding, and awkwardly said goodnight before leaving and closing the door behind himself. Emotional baggage dealt with, Diego felt suddenly lighter as he walked out of the bedrooms.

Bed sounded nice, he wanted to sleep too. Making his way to his own room, Diego took a sudden detour and walked back towards the drawing room. His cup was still abandoned, and continued to sit ignored as Diego grabbed the bottle beside it. Ben was probably still there - if he bothered waiting and wasnt following Diego still - because he could feel that signature stare of disappointment he had mastered as kids.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Yeah this is short, I'm not as tapped into Allison and writing her or the Bentacles  
> 2\. I studied HP Lovecraft for 2 years and I am so exploiting the cosmic horror side of Ben's powers because I LOVE COSMIC HORROR

Morning came too soon for Allison, the sun peeking through her window before she had the chance to fully process the day before. Sitting up, she looked around the room and took several deep breaths. Was it just a dream?

_No._

She jumped at the reply, a cold wash of anxiety running down her back.

"Who's there?" She called out.

"It's me." A reply came from the other side of the door.

"Luther?"

"Can I come in?" He asked. "Mom sent down your breakfast when you didn't join us."

Allison slept through breakfast. What time was it?

_About ten o'clock._

That same sense of panic shot through her.

"N-no!" She called out, drawing her knees up to her chest. "Just leave it out there, I dont know how to control this yet."

"Allison, we can help you." Luther tried to reassure his sister, setting the tray by the door. "Once you're feeling better, we need to have a family meeting. Theres... theres a lot we need to talk about."

"Not right now, Luther."

It was quiet then for several moments. Finally, Luther sighed and began walking away from the door. Allison relaxed a bit before taking a tentative step out of bed. Compared to the day before, she felt much more relaxed. As relaxed as she could with the lingering panic and anxiety, knowing what her new ability is. It was so scary and all she wanted was Ben there to help.

_We miss him too._

"Who said that?" Allison asked to the open air.

Quiet. Absolute quiet. An unnerving, skinscrawling silence that inched it's way down deep into Allison's bones. It was uncomfortable, to say the least.

Finally taking a deep breath, Allison stood and went to retrieve the breakfast outside. Just outside her door was a tray only Grace could compose. The typical smiley face eggs smiled up at Allison, fresh toast coated in melted butter serving as what she assumed to be hair. Around the plate was a steaming cup of coffee, small containers of cream and sugar, and a glass of water. The breakfast Allison always expected when she wasn't feeling well and got to eat in bed.

That sense of nostalgia rocked Allison to her core as she remembered the times she'd had breakfast like that. So many happy memories, now tinged bittersweet with adulthood. With a deep sigh, she walked back to bed and set down the tray.

_Those days are behind you._

"Who the fuck said that?" Allison demanded. "I'm not going crazy, I know I heard someone!"

_No, you are not going crazy._

The uncomfortable sensation of slithering crawled down Allison's chest as the new found portal she inherited opened up and a single tentacle made it's way out. It was slow, moving in a calculated fashion as it's new host began to panic.

"P-ple-please do-"

 _We will not hurt you. We are not meant to hurt you. Ben made us swear to harm none he loves long ago_.

"You... yo-you're the-the creature...?"

 _Yes, we are that which your family dubbed the Benticles. We are many and we are one, and you now harbor our only passage_.

 For a long moment, Allison stood, watching the large appendage protruding from her chest. The feeling at the point she and it met was cold, almost numb, like a cut nerve. It was part of her, yet so detached. It was a seperate entity - entities? - yet she heard it so clearly within her mind like it shared her thoughts.

_We do not share, we are. For the time, at least._

"Oh God." She muttered, falling to her knees as the tentacle retreated back into the void of her chest. 

_Calm yourself, Number Three, so long as our pact with Ben remains we will work with you in peace._

"But... I don't..."

 As quickly as the appendages appeared, they were gone, the portal sealed and a sense of privacy returned. Not a sense of being alone, somewhere deep in her mind Allison could feel the creature in their new shared mind. It felt more as if it was turning a blind eye to her, allowing her the space to think.

_You should probably call Claire back._


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, slowly but surely trying to get back on the flow of writing daily. Enjoy!

Diego couldnt remember the last time he was hung over. Since he moved out and became a vigilante, he didn't really drink, had to stay sharp. Laying in his childhood bed now, his head throbbing, Diego began kicking himself for actually thinking drinking away the ghosts was a good idea. Yeah, it worked for Klaus, but just because Klaus did it didn't mean he should. If Klaus jumped off a bridge, would Diego jump, too? Probably, but just to save his brothers scrawny ass.

Slowly sitting up, Diego scanned the room to see Ben sitting on the floor, book in hand. Still the nerd he grew up with.

"Hey." Diego said.

Ben didn't react, eyes still scanning his book thoughtfully.

"Okay, I kinda deserve that." He sighed. "I'm sorry I got drunk and ignored you."

"Apology accepted." Ben said flatly.

Standing, Diego stretched himself out before grabbing the boots tossed around the room and getting himself cleaned up. Fell asleep in his clothes again, but his pants seemed fine, shit stank of booze though. Quick change into a spare sweater he brought, stored nearly in the dresser next to too small dress shirts from his time in the academy. If they planned on keeping this place in the family as a home away from home, they really needed to get on updating the place. Maybe renovate Reginalds room, now that he wasnt using it, for Grace.

Diego smiled softly at the thought before pulling the sweater over his head and heading out to the kitchen. Even from the bedroom, he could smell Grace's cooking and the fresh coffee Five had no doubt taken over making.

The kitchen was a shockingly domestic picture. Grace in front of the stove, diligently frying away at breakfast, while Five waited just feet away for the kettle to boil for the coffee. Luther was reading the paper, occasionally looking up every once in a while at Vanya who was preparing her own bowl of oatmeal, spooning in jam and milk to taste. Allison and Klaus were nowhere to be seen, something that didn't shock Diego considering the day before.

"Morning." He grumbled, walking passed the table to kiss Grace on the cheek. "Morning, Mom."

"Good morning, dear." Grace said in her always cheerful tone. "I'll have breakfast done in just a jiffy, you just get settled in."

"Can I help?" Diego asked.

He could feel his siblings roll their eyes at him, but once a momma's boy always a momma's boy.

"Of course!" Grace motioned towards and cabinet where all the dishes were kept. "Why dont you set the table. And won't you get a tray ready for Allison? I don't think she'll be joining us yet."

 And Diego set out on his work. Setting the table around his siblings was easy, for the most part he just passed them a plate with their silverware on top, getting a few tired nods of thanks. He grabbed the breakfast tray from a cabinet and went about getting it ready.

As a child, Diego spent many early mornings watching Grace prepare breakfast. He was always a morning person, the first awake left to lie and watch the ceiling until Reginald's approved time to mill about the house, until he told Grace about it. With her usual magic and unnatural amount of persuasion, Grace convinced their father it would be healthier for Diego's development if he was allowed those few hours alone about the house. And so began his habit of joining Grace as she prepared breakfast, and occasionally helping, learning to prepare food with her to a near perfect level if completion.

With that same pride, Diego set the tray, everything neat in its place and waiting for its food and drink. Grace finished buttering the last slice of toast then, setting it in the toast rack and onto the table.

"Breakfast is served." She said, watching with pride as he children began to eat.

"Thank you, Mom." Diego said, smiling as he took his own seat and began eating.

"You're very welcome, dear."

As the four dug into breakfast, eventually joined by a sleepy Klaus, Grace prepped the food tray for Allison before picking it up and beginning to leave.

"Oh, I can take that." Luther piped up. "I wanted to check on Allison anyways."

"Oh, thank you, Luther."

She passed on the tray to Luther with a smile before taking her leave of the kitchen and leaving the remaining siblings to eat in relative silence.

It was an awkward silence, each sibling keeping to their own plate and occasionally asking for something to be passed before returning to their own meal. Slowly but surely, each finished and rinsed their plate, hurrying off in their own direction to do whatever it was they did to keep sane. Eventually, it left Diego and Klaus to their own devices.

Diego was washing up and cleaning before Grace returned to do it herself, quietly letting his mind go vacant. On the other end, Klaus sipped his coffee as he watched Diego's back, nearly burning holes into it. It was impossible to ignore, and soon left Diego with the horrible itch he always felt when someone watched him.

"What do you want?" He snapped, turning around as he dried a plate.

"You're hungover." Klaus observed.

"And?"

They watched each other, a game of mental chicken.

"You're never hungover, even on your wildest nights."

"And how do you know my wildest nights?" Diego chuckled. "This month is the first time we've seen each other in five years."

And what a five years it had been. Klaus's eyes darted away for a moment as he took another sip of sweetened, milky coffee. 

"That's what I thought." Diego turned, returning to his work.

"You're not the only one that checked up on everyone." Klaus piped up again.

How could Diego be so dense? Of course he had kept tabs on everyone, but not in a million years had he expected Klaus to do the same.

 "You really want to have this conversation right now?" Diego asked, looking back at his brother.

They watched each other for a moment, both weighting the pros and cons of opening up that can of worms. Opening up the fact that they loved their family, did everything to watch over and protect them, but barely raised a finger to interfere. Eventually, Klaus broke their staring contest and sipped away at his coffee as Diego turned back to place a plate on the drying rack.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I disappeared for a while, I was hyperfixating on Marvel after Endgame. From here on out I should be on a fairly regular schedule for y'all! I am determined to finish this story.

It felt like a stand off as Vanya watched her violin case. She hadn't touched it since before the group jump, and now that she was aware of her new strength, she didn't want to risk touching it. As well, she needed to practice and keep her violin skills sharp. If the first chair began slipping, she could easily be replaced.

With a deep breath, she opened the case, gently popping open the latches and beginning to open the lid. So far, so good. The bow came out of the case easy, her usually gentle grip on it barely a feather touch. It wasnt until she brought the bow to her resin block to prepare it that she fell back into the motions of routine and watched as her firm press splintered off the hairs of her bow.

"Damn it!" Vanya snapped, throwing the bow and resin to the floor in frustration.

The bow snapped as it met the edge of a coffee table and the resin itself shattered into many large chunks. Vanya slumped onto the floor, her face falling into her hands as she let out a frustrated and unintelligible cry. Without her meds and old power, she had felt a strange freedom the first day. She could be emotional, and angry, and lash out without causing some untold consequences, but now she was feeling the struggle. How long had Luther worked to not hurt people? To not destroy everything he touched?

Vanya couldnt recall a time he had caused an accident with his powers, of everyone he mastered his powers the quickest. The easiest.

Taking several deep breaths, Vanya began picking up the pieces, looking over her snapped bow and assessing the damage. She had a backup in her apartment out of sheer paranoia, before the next orchestra practice she would need to go get it. The broken one would have to be thrown away, but the resin could still be used. It may not have been the greatest condition but it was usable.

A sudden pop and thump caught her attention, looking back towards the hallway. She thought taking up practice in one of the many sitting rooms would be a quiet and peaceful option considering most siblings congregated in the first floor drawing room, yet there lay Luther.

He was sprawled out, taking a moment to collect himself before looking around. His eyes stopped on Vanya and the two went cold. The argument day before went as swimmingly as it could now that everything was out in the open, like an exposed nerve. Both had hoped, more or less, that they could keep the subject hushed and avoid unnecessary contact.

"Hey." Luther said, clearing his throat.

"Hey."

Vanya started picking up the pieces of resin the the floor and placed everything in her case before latching it and walking to the exit. Luther was still pushing himself up, his large stature giving him a moment of struggle. He watched Vanya and looked at the horse hair strands of bow sticking out from inside.

"I can help." He said bluntly.

Pausing, Vanya assessed her brother.

"I'm good."

She continued around him, not nothing to tip toe like she had been the last week. Before she still had fear, fear that Luther would change his mind and see his sister as a threat and lock her up. Now, with Luther's own power at her disposal, Vanya feared nothing.

"Van, I... look, I..." Luther followed several steps behind and tried to string together his words, mind still scrambled from jumping. "I know I fucked up, can you give me a chance to make up for it?"

She was halfway down the hall when Vanya stopped. With a low sigh, she turned to look at her brother, seeing something different as their eyes met. Even while trying to stop the apocalypse, when Luther was at his worst, he had that infallible confidence of Number One. It was the irritating sureness everyone knew him for because he grew up being told how great and important he was. But looking at her brother now, Vanya saw none of it. What she saw instead was confusion, anxiety, and an odd humbleness that was completely unlike Luther.

Taking a deep breath, Vanya chewed over his offer of help. If anyone could keep Vanya from breaking her bow in the middle of rehearsal, it was him.

"I guess... okay, yeah." She nodded, awkwardly averting her gaze to the floor. "But I kind of need to take care of some stuff first, you know, with work."

"Of course." Luther nodded.

"Maybe after dinner?"

"That sounds good."

With an awkward nod, Vanya took her leave. She wandered her way down to the foyer, slipping on her jacket and pausing. How things had changed since all their fathers secrets came out, Vanya could never fully comprehend. It felt like a fresh start with her family. They all suddenly understood each other, understood why they were the way they were, understood what had to change now if they had any hopes of being the family they were supposed to be.

Really, after it all, they could have taken the leave and never talked again. They could have taken Reginalds death as a chance to forget each other, the academy, everything, and dissolve the team they were. Instead, in the last week their family bond had been solidified. They were no longer siblings in title, they vague family unit fostered out of instinct as children had grown now. Vanya had a real family.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god... this fic is so long and I honestly dont know how much longer it will go  
> This was meant to be like 5 chapters???  
> Guess I should address the main plot then  
> In like  
> A little bit

"Hey, hey, Diego, we need to talk." Ben hurried alongside the brother in question as they walked down the long hall of bedrooms, occasionally peeking back towards the end.

The figure was waiting, just like Ben told them to, just beyond the shadows of the early afternoon. After a long talk, Ben decided it was more important he get Diego involved than wait for the spirit to resolve its issues alone. But currently, Diego was heading straight to Allison's room. All practice in manifesting Ben had been a failure, but that didn't mean Diego couldnt translate. Allison needed them.

"Can it wait for later?" Diego asked, trying to brush off Ben's excited rambling.

"I dont think so, I really, really don't think so." Ben stopped in front of Diego, holding out his arms in protest. "Please, just listen to me for, like, a minute."

With a huff, Diego paused, arms crossed in front of his chest and scarred brow raised in curiosity. Whatever got Ben's boxers in a bunch was beyond him, but it had to be important to derail their attempts to help Allison. Ben took a deep breath, looking back a moment to make sure the spirit was still in place. Diego followed his gaze back, stopping halfway when he saw his own bedroom door ajar.

"Hey, wait-" Ben protested as Diego turned and began walking away.

The door  creaked as he pushed it opened, scanning his room before freezing in place. 

"Diego?" Ben stepped closer, looking over his brothers shoulder.

Scanning the room, not a thing was out of place. Discarded tactical suit was still heaped in the corner, knives and sharpening stone sat still on the nightstand, and not a soul in sight. Diego shook his head, stepping back. He swore he'd seen something out of the corner of his eyes, a flicker of walking back and forth.

"It's nothing." He muttered, stepping back. With a sigh, he turned his attention back to Ben. "Look, can we talk to Allison first? She's been cooped up in her room and if we can get her some peace of mind, things are gonna get a lot easier around here."

Ben chewed it over, looking back at the looming spirit down the hall and back at his brother. He sighed and walked back to the end of the hall, speaking in hushed whispers and glancing about the hall. After a minute, he walked back and nodded.

"Okay, but as soon as we're done we need to talk."

"Promise."

Both nodded in agreement before making their way to Allison's door. With a gentle knock, Diego listened for any response before slowly creaking open the door. It had been several hours since Luther had come to check on Allison, and she was still picking at her breakfast. A nibble here, a nibble there, sip of coffee. She barely reacted to Diego's entrance, sat at the window sill and watching the day go by.

"Hey." He said, breaking the tense silence.

"Go away." Allison mumbled.

"You know I cant do that right now." Diego sat himself at the vanity, watching his big sister. "Ben thinks he can help."

"How can Ben help?"

Her gaze never left the window. Soft shapes of late fall leaves fluttering by as her only entertainment, the only thing that kept her calm.

"He can, I mean, we can talk you through this. With the new power, get you back and operational." He smiled, trying to keep the energy of the room high.

"I don't need your help." Allison sighed. "Tell Ben it already told me everything. We're okay, I just... I can't go out. I don't want to."

"It told you everything?" Diego asked, brow scrunched together.

He looked to Ben. The younger of the three had gone stoic, jaw clenched as he watched Allison. Was that anger or worry, Diego couldnt tell. Instead of puzzling out Ben's emotions, he turned to Allison.

"Listen, if the power is the issue let Ben and I help. If not, you're going to need to get out of this woe is me shtick." He said. "We care about you, but theres also a lot going on right now and we need all hands on deck."

Allison didn't move a muscle, eyes still set forward out the window. The three sat in that silence, fixated on different things, but all aware what needed to happen. Allison knew she needed to come to terms with the beast she was now intimately familiar with, just as it was with her, and help her siblings solve this mysterious switch in abilities. Diego knew he needed to help Allison, to bridge the gap between her and Ben so whatever was happening didn't get out of hand. Ben knew he needed to wrap this up, get Allison moving, and hurry Diego to the spirit in need. There was little he could do on his own, dependant on the only one who could see him, which now seemed league's harder than when Klaus could see him.

"Okay." Allisom sighed, finally turning to acknowledge Diego. "Just... give me a little bit?"

"Atta girl." Diego smiled, standing from the chair and straightening out his sweater. "If you need anything, absolutely anything, you know we're all here."

She nodded, the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.

"Okay."

"Okay."


End file.
